The invention relates to a protective device for an interior of a motor vehicle with a flexible flat structure that can be transferred from at least one stored resting position into at least one protective position that separates a cargo area from a passenger area and back into the at least one resting position.
In station wagons it is known to use a roller-shade housing to store a flexible flat structure in the form of a safety net that separates a cargo area from a passenger area of the vehicle interior, said net being rolled up and pulled out upward when needed. The roller-shade housing is releasably mounted in the vicinity of a rear surface of a backrest of a front seat bench. The safety net can be pulled out upward approximately vertically both when the backrest is upright and when it is folded forward, and can be suspended from mounts that are integral with the roof. Since the safety net is flexible, it is possible that during violent vehicle deceleration, cargo can be hurled laterally against the safety net in the vicinity of the side edges of the net, between the side edges of the net and the side windows or the side interior trim and pass forward from the cargo area into the passenger area.
A goal of the present invention is to provide a protective device of the type generally described above to provide improved protective for the passenger area.
This and other goals have been achieved according to the present invention by stretching the flexible flat structure in a rigid frame, said frame being mounted so that it can move between the resting position and the protective position. By using a rigid frame, the flat structure has an increased retention capability in the vicinity of its side edges as well, resulting in improved separation between the cargo area and the passenger area and thus offer improved protective for the passenger area as well.
In one embodiment of the invention the frame is pivotably mounted on the roof interior trim and arranged to rest flat in its resting position against the roof. In its resting position the frame, including the flat structure stretched therein does not reduce the available space in the interior and especially in the cargo area, since it lies against the roof. Especially advantageously, the frame is mounted so that it is recessed in its resting position in a matching depression in the roof.
In another embodiment of the invention, holding receptacles are provided on the roof, running lengthwise of the vehicle and spaced apart from one another, in which receptacles the frame can optionally be releasably secured to form a pivoting mount. It is then advantageously possible to lock the frame, in the vicinity of its upper cross member as well as in the vicinity of its lower cross member, in the retaining receptacles so that with a suitable spacing of two adjacent retaining receptacles with respect to one another, the frame can be secured to lie flat against the roof.
In another embodiment of the invention, a retaining receptacle is located on the roof at the location of the backrests of the front seats and at the location of the backrests of the rear seats. In this way the frame can produce a separation between the passenger area and the cargo area both at the location of the backrests of the rear seats and also at the location of the backrests of the front seats when the backrests of the rear seats are folded down.
In another embodiment of the invention the height of the frame is greater than the distance between the roof and the backrests of the front seats or of the rear seats. If the frame is pivotably mounted on the roof, locking of the lower part of the frame in the protective position on the backrests is not required since the frame is in any case supported in this area at the rear on the respective backrests and thus offers secure retention for cargo in the cargo area in the-event of a violent vehicle deceleration.
In another embodiment of the invention, a small additional frame is integrated into the frame and is mounted movably thereon, and can be transferred independently of the frame into a protective position. This is especially advantageous when the protective device is intended to offer a secure separation between the cargo area and the passenger area both when the backrests of the rear seats are upright and when the backrests of the rear seats are folded forward, since the smaller additional frame and the large frame can have dimensions such that the additional frame forms the protective position when the backrests are upright and the large frame forms the protective position when the backrests are folded down.
In another embodiment of the invention, a flexible covering is provided on the underside of the frame, said covering covering a space between the front seats when the frame is in a forward protective position, with the covering having associated with it a mount integral with the floor to hold it in its protective position. This additional flexible covering is advantageous either when the frame is mounted in the vicinity of the roof or when the frame is held releasably on the backrests of the rear seats, and is removed from these mounts on the backrests to assume its protective position when the backrests are folded down and is then fastened in the vicinity of the roof. In both cases the flexible covering is pulled downward from the frame and connected to the vehicle floor.
In another embodiment of the invention the frame has mounting receptacles for a roller-shade housing of a safety net that can be pulled out. As a result the roller-shade housing can be optionally mounted on either the backrest or the frame when the backrest is folded down, and in the second case the safety net can be pulled out of the frame into its protective position.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.